Coupeville Sports

Spiker guru Cris Matochi is building a strong middle school volleyball program in Coupeville. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

The butterflies are out of the way.

A new season of Coupeville Middle School volleyball is officially underway, after the Wolves travelled to the wilds of Sultan Monday for their openers.

The Wolves, who were missing several of their most experienced players, still put up a good fight against the always-strong Turks.

Team A fell 25-19, 25-15, 15-12, while Team B was edged 25-17, 25-15, 15-12.

“We have a long road ahead of us, but I liked how the girls were able to recognize they needed more communication on the court,” said CMS coach Kristina Hooks.

“This was the first game for a lot of the players so it was a new experience and new experiences can be scary.

“The girls want to get better,” Hooks added.

“Some of them came up to me after the game and asked what they could work on to be better, so I am so proud that they are actively working towards bettering themselves as players.”

That was a sentiment shared by fellow Wolf spiker guru Cris Matochi.

“The kids had a really good start, but we struggled with serve receive in the middle of the sets,” he said. “We serve really well during practices, but we did not serve at our fullest potential today.

“Many of the kids were playing volleyball for the first time, so it was clear that some were just really nervous,” Matochi added.

“We will work on building their confidence and helping them to feel more comfortable during matches.”

Coupeville returns to practice the next few days, then makes a second off-Island trip to Shoreline Thursday to face private school power King’s.

After that the Wolves have four of their next five matches in their home gym, starting with an Oct. 2 showdown with Granite Falls.

“We have a lot of work to do,” Matochi said. “But I am glad that we have such an incredible group of kids who work hard and love volleyball.

“I know that their hard work is going to pay off.”